Balen was used to labor – his natural constitution and strength allowed him to fare pretty well in the task, and pulling sarcophagi was no exception. Being helped by two warriors obviously had an effect. But nonetheless, he wasn’t tired by the time they finished desecrating all the graves in the chamber. ‘’[i]Somebody’s going to be pretty pissed,[/i]’’ he thought to himself – it was like the equivalent of having some thieves come into your house and break your bed. Then again, the undead shouldn’t have been waking up, so at least it wasn’t just party who was in the wrong. Objectively speaking, both sides were faulty. But Balen was allied with one side, and he wasn’t going to start acting based on his moral judgment on grave robbing. 

The group entered one of the tunnels based on a coin toss – while easy for the others to trudge through, Balen found himself deeply uncomfortable, as his tall stature made it hard for him to fit in. He had to hunch forward and lean his head to the side to walk without hitting his head on the ceiling. It was in times like these when he’d curse his height. It’s not like he was a warrior or a marksman – he didn’t have use for the extended reach or the point of view. But, he believed it was rude to complain about things that just are that way, so he decided to get this thought off his head. 

Eventually the group reached what seemed to be a library – plenty of books everywhere, lots of scrolls, although the height was the same. He felt like a wandering giant having stumbled upon the secret dwellings of some underground civilization. No, not the Dwemer – they were far too sophisticated and, according to descriptions, tall for this small and cramped place to be theirs. Plus, their ‘houses’ were in good shape. Though the more important thing right now was the loot, and not Dwemer architecture.

Balen saw the ex-Legionnaire, Sibassius, pocket some jewels off one of the tables. Following him, the aspiring mage, Merci, grabbed some unrefined gold nuggets. Balen thought he could sell the dagger for a good price, but then stopped. He had no idea what the enchantment was, and he certainly wasn’t going to stab anyone or anything around to find out. Better to just go with the good stuff, he thought, and took some of the remaining amethysts. ‘’Would you people mind if I took a look at the scrolls here? There might be some information of value, or something to sell to a bookstore.’’ He did not want to trigger another trap and release walking corpses, not in this cramped space, so he waited for the approval of the others before actually touching anything.